East Valley Focus

SUNLAND : Career Day Exposes Kids to Variety of Jobs

From how to operate a cash register to how to pull a topsy tail, plenty of questions about careers were answered for Sunland Elementary School students Friday.

"I've always wondered about how to be a person who works at a store," said third-grader Jessie Strange, 8, after a lesson on using a price scanner from the Tujunga Vons was briefly interrupted by a Los Angeles Police Department helicopter flying overhead.

The helicopter, as well as a police cruiser, ambulance, firetruck and transit bus, visited the school for Career Day. Presentations by 32 volunteers covered topics such as space, technology, sports officiating, bicycle repair, self-defense, karate, postal work and dog grooming.

"It gives them the opportunity to make choices. They don't get to do that so often," said Evelyn Wedell, one of the teachers who organized the event.

"No, I want to be a hairstylist," said Mindy Vincent, 9, a friend of Strange, when asked if she would like to be a cashier. Her mother, Nancy Feliciano, is a hairdresser who gave demonstrations Friday on how to pull a topsy tail, a popular hairstyle. "I just get a kick out of doing this," Feliciano said.